Delamination Techniques of Waste Solar Panels: A Review
Solar panels are an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels; however, their useful life is limited to approximately 25 years, after which they become a waste management issue. Proper management and recycling of end-of-life (EOL) solar panels are paramount. It protects the environment be...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Clean Technologies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/6/1/14 |
| _version_ | 1797241619375718400 |
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| author | Ali Ghahremani Scott D. Adams Michael Norton Sui Yang Khoo Abbas Z. Kouzani |
| author_facet | Ali Ghahremani Scott D. Adams Michael Norton Sui Yang Khoo Abbas Z. Kouzani |
| author_sort | Ali Ghahremani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Solar panels are an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels; however, their useful life is limited to approximately 25 years, after which they become a waste management issue. Proper management and recycling of end-of-life (EOL) solar panels are paramount. It protects the environment because of the high energy consumption of silicon production. We can effectively decrease energy and cost requirements by recovering silicon from recycled solar panels. This is one-third of those needed for manufacturing silicon directly. Moreover, solar panels include heavy metals, such as lead, tin, and cadmium, which pose risks to human health and the environment. Empirical evidence suggests that the costs of mining materials can exceed those of recycled materials, thereby making recycling a more cost-effective means of resource harvesting. This review paper focuses on the techniques developed to delaminate solar panels, which are considered a crucial step in the recycling of EOL solar panels. Initially, various classifications of solar panels are given. Subsequently, an analysis of the diverse methods of solar panel delamination and their efficacy in the retrieval of valued materials is presented. This investigation has identified three primary modes of delamination, namely mechanical, thermal, and chemical. Among these, mechanical delamination is deemed to be a sustainable and cost-effective option when compared to thermal and chemical delamination. The current most popular method of thermal delamination is characterized by its high energy consumption and potential emission, and the chemical delamination generates hazardous liquids that pose their own threat to the environment. This study emphasizes the mechanical delamination techniques, characterized by their environmentally friendly nature, minimal ecological footprint, and capacity to retrieve entire glass panels intact. This paper also discusses the current gaps and potential enhancements for mechanical delamination techniques. For example, some delamination techniques result in crushed materials. Thus, the handling and recovery of materials such as glass and silicon cells require the implementation of an appropriate sorting technique. Also, the value obtained from recovering crushed materials is lower than that of intact glass and silicon cells. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:26:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb4c155fdaaa4d4c8c7a1110c9de1131 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-8797 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:26:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Clean Technologies |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb4c155fdaaa4d4c8c7a1110c9de11312024-03-27T13:31:37ZengMDPI AGClean Technologies2571-87972024-02-016128029810.3390/cleantechnol6010014Delamination Techniques of Waste Solar Panels: A ReviewAli Ghahremani0Scott D. Adams1Michael Norton2Sui Yang Khoo3Abbas Z. Kouzani4The School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, AustraliaThe School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, AustraliaThe School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, AustraliaThe School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, AustraliaThe School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, AustraliaSolar panels are an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels; however, their useful life is limited to approximately 25 years, after which they become a waste management issue. Proper management and recycling of end-of-life (EOL) solar panels are paramount. It protects the environment because of the high energy consumption of silicon production. We can effectively decrease energy and cost requirements by recovering silicon from recycled solar panels. This is one-third of those needed for manufacturing silicon directly. Moreover, solar panels include heavy metals, such as lead, tin, and cadmium, which pose risks to human health and the environment. Empirical evidence suggests that the costs of mining materials can exceed those of recycled materials, thereby making recycling a more cost-effective means of resource harvesting. This review paper focuses on the techniques developed to delaminate solar panels, which are considered a crucial step in the recycling of EOL solar panels. Initially, various classifications of solar panels are given. Subsequently, an analysis of the diverse methods of solar panel delamination and their efficacy in the retrieval of valued materials is presented. This investigation has identified three primary modes of delamination, namely mechanical, thermal, and chemical. Among these, mechanical delamination is deemed to be a sustainable and cost-effective option when compared to thermal and chemical delamination. The current most popular method of thermal delamination is characterized by its high energy consumption and potential emission, and the chemical delamination generates hazardous liquids that pose their own threat to the environment. This study emphasizes the mechanical delamination techniques, characterized by their environmentally friendly nature, minimal ecological footprint, and capacity to retrieve entire glass panels intact. This paper also discusses the current gaps and potential enhancements for mechanical delamination techniques. For example, some delamination techniques result in crushed materials. Thus, the handling and recovery of materials such as glass and silicon cells require the implementation of an appropriate sorting technique. Also, the value obtained from recovering crushed materials is lower than that of intact glass and silicon cells.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/6/1/14waste solar panelend of liferecyclingdelaminationrecovery |
| spellingShingle | Ali Ghahremani Scott D. Adams Michael Norton Sui Yang Khoo Abbas Z. Kouzani Delamination Techniques of Waste Solar Panels: A Review Clean Technologies waste solar panel end of life recycling delamination recovery |
| title | Delamination Techniques of Waste Solar Panels: A Review |
| title_full | Delamination Techniques of Waste Solar Panels: A Review |
| title_fullStr | Delamination Techniques of Waste Solar Panels: A Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Delamination Techniques of Waste Solar Panels: A Review |
| title_short | Delamination Techniques of Waste Solar Panels: A Review |
| title_sort | delamination techniques of waste solar panels a review |
| topic | waste solar panel end of life recycling delamination recovery |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/6/1/14 |
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